Original 1796 Barbary State treaty did not cite Christianity in the U.S.

I was intrigued by the letter of David Gurowsky saying that according to a 1796 treaty with the Barbary States the USA was not founded on a Christian religion. If you Google such treaty you will find out that statement was not found in the original treaty.

We were a young nation fending off Muslim pirates on the Barbary Coast and our Navy was just being built. I suggest reading Brian Kilmeade's "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates."

Also, I suggest Mr. Gurowsky read our Declaration of Independence and go to Washington, D.C. to see the inscriptions on many of our federal buildings. We have freedom "of" religion, a freedom which we have never forced on anyone.

However, we are fighting a radical form of a different religion around the world and it is not Christianity.

Linda Vice

Bradenton

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Original 1796 Barbary State treaty did not cite Christianity in the U.S. ."